paris + week 1

bon jour! manao ahoana! i figured i'd see how writing a blog goes, it's a bit easier than e-mail updates.

somehow i've already been out of the us for more than a week, it hardly seems possible. i had a nice, easy time in paris and hit all the major spots in an afternoon. it was horribly cold, but i made it and otherwise just relaxed. it wasn't long before i made it to sunny, 85+° antananarivo ("tana"), madagascar. it was a nice break from the snow in seattle and the cold in philly right before i left! tana is a pretty cool city, very green for a capitol. buildings are set in the hills, making for some great views. (see picture) this is the view out my hotel window. the lake is called lac anosy. i watched fireworks from my window over the lake on new year's eve.
despite my pretty poor sense of direction, i've finally gotten a hang of the main downtown area and make my way around ignoring the people who follow me and sell me stuff because i'm a "faza" (foreigner). unfortunately, there's a decent amount of begging and street kids, the poverty is pretty evident. i made the mistake of eating my sandwich as i walked by begging kids, and it was quite a difficult situation. the kids are well trained, they jump up at the sight of a faza and follow you only so far as they are told. walking by certain places enough times, I have begun to learn the patterns of the kids. the city's pretty safe though, even for me as a woman alone, so that has made things easier. i've had to use my very broken french a lot, but i'm starting classes or going to find a tutor asap. i also got my first lesson in malagasy the other day, which seems like a pretty cool language. i'm excited to learn that too. english definitely doesn't get me far here, so it's a good incentive to get moving so i can communicate, especially if i want to move out of the capitol and start working with disabilities. i'm living in a hotel now, but it's beginning to feel like a home. the girl who works there everyday during the day is named domoina and she's 23, so we get along well and she has helped me a great deal. she even had me to her house for lunch and is trying to help me with disability connections. i also have a friend of a friend of a friend here named narindra, and he's been extremely helpful to me too getting me acquainted with the city. i had dinner with his family the other night and they were very welcoming. i have met a few other people also who are helping me out, so it's been nice and i haven't felt too lost here. i've been looking into other places on the island to call home (meaning closer to the beach!) but i'm in tana til i get my visa extended for the year and get a better handle of french. but as i look back over the first week i can't complain. i feel like i've been very lucky with the people i've met. although at this point i have no idea what will come of this year, or even what will happen tomorrow, i'm confident things will work out. i like this challenge of getting my life oriented in a new place. but that's all for now i guess. au revoir! veloma!